Abstract

The pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behaviors of 4-[3-[3-[Bis(4-isobutylphenyl) methylamino] benzoyl]-1H-indol-1-yl]-butyric acid (FK143), a new nonsteroidal steroid 5α-reductase inhibitor, in the ventral prostate were investigated after i.v. administration to rats. The relationship between blood concentrations at 24 hr and doses was linear in the range of 0.1 to 20 mg/kg. However, the levels of FK143 in the prostate were saturated over the dose of over 5 mg/kg. The dissociation constant (Kd) and maximum amount of binding substances (Bmax), calculated according to nonlinear kinetic analysis including a specific binding pool, was 0.0553 ± 0.0117 μg/ml (92 nM, estimated value ± S.D.) and 0.908 ± 0.092 μg/g tissue, respectively. A combined pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model was constructed using change in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in the prostate after i.v. administration of FK143 as an index for its pharmacological effect and blood concentration as an input function. The apparent reaction rate constant of drug and enzyme (K) was 39.7 ± 25.1 g tissue/μg/hr (estimated value ± S.D.), the apparent turn-over rate constant of enzyme (k) was 0.140 ± 0.107 hr−1, the elimination rate constant of DHT (kel, DHT) was 1.13 ± 0.94 hr−1 and the fraction of FK143-insensitive DHT synthesis (F) was 0.461 ± 0.037. The PK/PD analysis suggested that the duration of the effect of FK143 was related to its accumulation in the binding pool of the prostate. After i.v. administration of FK143 in the range of 0.1 to 20 mg/kg, the DHT levels in the prostate decreased to about 40% of control value, after which despite the rapid decline of blood FK143 concentration, slowly recovered according to the elimination rate of FK143 in the prostate. Moreover, the PK/PD profiles of FK143 after repeated i.v. administration were predictable by using the PK/PD parameters obtained after single administration of FK143.